


To Be Continued

by TheSlayerette83



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Varchie!Centric, a tearful goodbye, spoilers for s5 of riverdale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSlayerette83/pseuds/TheSlayerette83
Summary: Veronica and Archie say goodbye as he takes off for the Army. Based on the spoilers for season 5.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	To Be Continued

Tucking his hands deep in his pockets, Archie awkwardly shuffles on his feet. His brown eyes flickering to the dirt he kicks off mindlessly. There's a part of him who will be forever grateful his childhood friends felt the need to say goodbye to him, despite everything that had went down between them, but the disappointment is still lingering. It had been bubbling in the pit of his stomach ever since Jughead and Betty had gotten out of the car with no trace of Veronica on their heels. 

He can't say he's surprised. After all, the last time he saw her she barely acknowledged him -- instead catching up to Reggie with a wide smile and linking their arms as she dragged him down to La Bonne Nuit. The burger he had been eating at the time was then pushed aside, his appetite gone as quickly as she had disappeared from view. 

"I'm..." trails off, not exactly sure what to say to the both of them. Apologizing had done no good the past few weeks and he was not foolish enough to believe their goodbyes meant anything more. Which is why he simply nods without another word.

Just as he's about to turn around, a small and hesitant voice startles him, calling out his name in a way that makes his heart break all over again. He's left completely speechless at the sight of Veronica slowly coming out of the back of the car -- where she had been all along, hiding in the shadows the trees around had provided. 

Jughead and Betty seem to understand this is something they can't be a part of, and although things seem to be rather tense between them, they both head down the same way.

The day had been filled with so many emotional farewells with his mom and the handful of friendly people who had not turned their back on him. But it was Veronica separating the distance between them, seemingly so small and fragile, that sent him over the edge. He was not deserving, but here she was nonetheless -- the wonderful heart he had been lucky enough to press against his own, exposed and torn. 

The tears comes streaming down his face and Archie feels like he’s about to suffocate -- chin quivering while he presses his lips together to muffle the sob that is threatening to escape them.

“Please... be safe.”

Tears of her own trail down her beautiful features and her voice cracks like it did during _that_ night. The one he wishes he could take back. There’s nothing more he wants than to draw her in his arms and make it all better -- though he doesn’t have the right nor the ability to do this anymore. He nods and a shaky breath tumbles from his mouth as he exhales, willing himself to not drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness. _Again_.

There are so many things he wants to say. So many things he should have said before it came down to this moment. But he has already played his cards, partaking in a game he should have never started in the first place.

“You too, Ronnie.”

The nickname rolls of his tongue like it always has and he musters a small smile before walking backward in the direction of the bus -- where some of his new fellow army buddies are gawking at the scene from behind the windows.

He pays them no mind when he walks in and keeps his brown eyes on the girl who showed him what it was like to love and be loved in return.

_“Hi.”_

_“Hey.”_

_“How are the onions rings here?”_

The bus starts again, slowly driving off from the side of the road but he finds himself unable to keep his gaze away from Veronica; still standing in the spot where he left her. He moves further into the bus, each window he encounters allowing him to catch sight of the raven haired girl. He hurries to the back as the vehicle takes more speed, ignoring the disgruntled boys sitting in the last row who are forced to move out of the way. Veronica is still looking at the retreating bus and the redhead is almost tempted to yell at the driver to stop once more. To run back to her and right his wrongs.

_“Veronica Lodge.”_

_“Archie Andrews.”_

But he is also aware deep down such gesture would be futile when the trust that united them has vanished. His betrayal with Betty is a fresh wound that will need time to heal and he swears to himself, as he keeps looking at her, to become the kind of man she always praised him to be. The Archie Andrews who had stood in her father’s study and claimed he would never hurt her this way.

Archie doesn’t know where life is going to take him, but there’s a hope that surges through his being as he leans back against the middle seat once Veronica’s frame becomes a blurry figure in the distance.

Thinking about their tumultuous but loving history, there was something that had never failed to be true at the end of the day. Their paths were intertwined and always leading them back onto the same road.

When that day would come, he would be ready.

_“...to be continued.”_

**Author's Note:**

> very short but straight to the point.
> 
> i just needed to put it out there because that's immediately what i imagined when i read the spoilers.


End file.
